The present invention relates to disposable lancet assemblies and in particular to a single-use assembly for pricking a person's finger for a blood sample.
Various types of disposable lancet assemblies are known in the art, ranging from auto-loading, multiple lancet units such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,152,775 to single-use, disposable units such as that shown in U.S. Pat. No. 5,487,748. All of the recently developed types of assemblies have the common goal of providing a sterile lancet that can only be used one time. The preferred embodiment is a single-use, disposable assembly which minimizes the possibility of contamination. For such disposable assemblies, it is desirable to provide a simple, inexpensive but reliable unit.
In order to attain the goals of simplicity and low cost, it is desirable to minimize the number of components in an assembly so as to reduce labor costs. Further cost reduction can be attained by elimination of metal components, such as coil springs, and by design of the assembly such that appendages, slots and flanges are molded in situ.